Buffalo Bills didn't ace this draft test

Buffalo Bills general manager Buddy Nix insists that he has an improved football team after the NFL college draft. What else was he going to say?

I believe Buffalo is better primarily because No. 9 overall pick C.J. Spiller is the dynamic big-play threat the team has so sorely been lacking. But don't expect him to get more than 15 carries a game. He's not a heavy-duty running back. Chan Gailey is an innovative offensive mind who'll find ways to get Spiller the ball in space frequently enough to be worthy of his lofty draft status.

But I wasn't impressed by the other eight picks. Buffalo's scouts have higher opinions of those players than many of us do. I hope they're correct.

Here's how a few of the most-respected media draft gurus rated Buffalo's draft:

Mel Kiper (ESPN.com) - C+ ... He thinks RB C.J. Spiller will be very good, but he was surprised by the pick because the Bills had more pressing needs. ... He described defensive tackle Torell Troup and defensive end Alex Carrington as "reaches." ... "Their 3-4 defense was clearly considered" a more pressing need than the offensive line. ... "It's hard to evaluate a QB if you can't protect him or help the running game." ... He said he likes the "late addition of LB Arthur Moats."

Rick Gosselin (The Dallas Morning News) - B ... "The Bills claimed the draft's most dynamic offensive weapon in Spiller, then went to work retooling the defensive front. Troup and Carrington give the Bills size, and Moats and LB Danny Batten give them speed."

Randy Covitz (McClatchy Newspapers) - B- ... "Spiller has the capabilities to be the NFL's Rookie of the Year if he can get some blocking."... "Instead of filling OL needs at the top of the draft, the Bills addressed their new 3-4 front."

Bob Glauber (Newsday) - He had five "losers" (Buffalo, Denver, Jacksonville, Philadelphia and San Diego) and five "winners" (Carolina, Cleveland, New England, Oakland, St. Louis). ... "No quibbling with Spiller in the first round. Terrific player. But with a glaring need at QB, the Bills bypassed Colt McCoy and Jimmy Clausen. Not only that, but they essentially ignored the other glaring weakness, the OL, until the fifth round, settling for Ed Wang."

Encouraging note: Scout.com's Adam Caplan listed six players "who could wind up being draft day steals down the road with their new teams," and three are Buffalo Bills: QB Levi Brown ("an athletic QB with a strong arm"), WR Marcus Easley ("good size and averaged 18-plus yards per catch his senior season") and OLB Arthur Moats ("Some personnel evaluators have likened Moats to Pittsburg OLB James Harrison - a smaller player who has a great motor and is hard to keep off the quarterback.").

A total of 53 underclassmen opted for the 2010 NFL draft. They gave up their scholarships to pursue their pro football dreams. Of the seven unfortunate players who were not selected, the most surprising must have been Mississippi quarterback Jevan Snead. Entering his junior year, he was rated among the nation's top college QBs, but he had a disappointing season and paid for it.

Thumbs down to always-entertaining-but-sometimes-ridiculous Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for ripping the NFL for moving the college draft into prime time and butting heads with the NBA playoffs. The NFL owes nothing to the NBA and the TV ratings were a strong message to potential sponsors regarding the relative popularity of the two products. The first round of the NFL draft averaged 8.3 million viewers on ESPN and the NFL Network, more than doubling the average viewership of the Los Angeles Lakers-Oklahoma City Thunder game on TNT.

Who could have guessed that Tuesday night's Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers pivotal Game 5 of their best-of-seven first-round NBA playoff series would be can't-miss viewing for many sports fans (now that the NFL draft is over)? The Thunder have the enthusiasm, young legs and a huge advantage at the foul line (they get there more often and make more of their free throws). The Lakers have the established class and big-game experience. Los Angeles also has this bit of playoff history on its side: only 3 of 52 eighth-seeded teams ever have upset a No. 1 seed. My hunch is that most viewers coast-to-coast will be rooting for Oklahoma City.

With likely favorite Eskendereya out of Saturday's Kentucky Derby because of swelling in his left front leg (a badly sprained ankle in a human), the probability of thoroughbred racing's first Triple Crown winner since 1978 took a huge hit. The colt also was trainer Todd Pletcher's main hope to end his 0-for-24 Derby record. He still could saddle up to six horses in the race.

No other horse in this 3-year-old crop appears likely to win two legs of the Triple Crown, let alone three. Eskendereya is the second straight winner of the Wood Memorial and probable Kentucky Derby post-time betting favorite to fail to make the starting gate. Want Revenge was scratched on the morning of last year's Run for the Roses due to a soft tissue injury.

Condolences to long-suffering Pittsburgh Pirates. The longest losing streak in baseball history is bad enough - 17 years and counting - but last week's 20-0 loss to Milwaukee was the most lopsided defeat in the 124-year history of the franchise. The Pirates have a habit of trading their best players for "prospects" who seldom pan out but have much lower salaries. ... The Boston Red Sox have two major problems: their catchers are helpless against opposing base-stealers and David Ortiz appears hopelessly washed up. He finished fast last season, but Boston can't afford to carry him much longer with AL East rivals New York and Tampa Bay looking strong and pulling away.

Heart surgery is a big reason why owner-trainer Felix Monserrate last week sold Zippy Chippy to a horse retirement farm near Saratoga Race Course. Said Felix: "I didn't know what would happen to him if something happens to me." ... 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra could next run on Friday in the $400,000 La Trionne Stakes at Churchill Downs. It is on the undercard of the Kentucky Oaks, a race she won by 201/4 lengths last year.

The Rochester Knighthawks missed the National Lacrosse League playoffs for only the second time in their 16 seasons, but last weekend wasn't a complete loss. Rochester has Colorado's first-round pick in this fall's entry draft and it will be No. 1 overall after the Mammoth lost 11-10 to Calgary to finish with the NLL's worst record: 4-12. ... Rochester's failure to make the playoffs is another example of why the NLL's qualifying system is unfair. The top four teams from each division qualify, and the East has six teams and the West has five. Rochester finished 7-9 and Minnesota was 5-11, but the Swarm made the playoffs. The obvious solution: the top three teams in each division plus the two teams with the next-best records should qualify for the playoffs. ... The most disappointing numbers for the Knighthawks in the 11-team league were a league-low 9.69 goals per game and seventh-ranked power play.